Percy Shelley: Poems

the 'hand' and the 'heart' (line8) are, of course, the hand and the heart of the sculptor, not of Ozymandias. discuss the irony in this fact , referring particularly to line 10 and 11

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Asked by
Last updated by jill d #170087
Answers 1
Add Yours

The irony comes from the fact that Ozymandias's statue will not be a source of remembrance for a great man, but rather a testament to his oppression of his people. He did nothing to build a memory built on merit and great deeds, but rather destroyed it by dominating his people during his lifetime and leaving behind a great token to what he believed himself to be in the immortal form of a monument.

Source(s)

Ozymandias